A Deeper Look
by Fabi-Chan
Summary: They had gone through horrible nightmares together. After all those years, will it take more than just zombies to make them realize their feelings for each other? 30themes. Cleon. R&R!
1. Topless

**Author's Notes: **Hello everyone! I hope you had amazing holidays, and to celebrate I bring a new fanfic, but this time dedicated to Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy. I hope you enjoy it!

This was made for a 30 themes challenge with a friend, but instead of making it a series of unrelated oneshots, I decided to mantain certain continuity between them, as well as a plot.

**Disclaimer:** Resident Evil belongs to Capcom.

**I**

**t o p l e s s**

**Setting: **After Degeneration

_Wow, folks! It seems that tonight is one hell of a night. __Look at that rain!_

Click.

_Another apocalyptic night in New York! It seems that the rain isn't going to stop for another two hours. _

Click.

_Here in the LaGuardia Airport seems like many people are going to __have to say the night here. Most of the hotels in the area are booked because of the catastrophic rain. In other news… _

_Click_

Claire sighed, utterly annoyed by the news of the rain. Really, did they need to talk about it in _every_ news channel? You just needed one look outside to know that it was pouring litters down there. The huge raindrops hit her windows like projectiles, and even if she hated to watch TV, she needed some kind of noise to distract herself from the rain and the thunders that echoed through her apartment.

She finally turned off the TV as she couldn't take much more of the news. She stayed in silence while pondering what to do. She didn't feel like getting up from her comfortable couch, but it seemed like she didn't have any other choice. Stretching herself and looking around the living room, she spotted the small CD case Chris had gotten her from her birthday last month.

"This could cheer me up," she said with a smile, opening it and placing the CD on her player across the room. As soon as she hit the play button, the speakers went on blasting heavy metal music—Claire's favorite.

She decided to get something to eat, but since no one was willing to deliver a pizza with that rain, a sandwich will made do. Dancing to the beat of the guitar solo and singing at the top of her lungs, she headed to the kitchen.

.

.

Leon's blonde hair was splattered all over his face when he finally got out of the rain. His plane had been delayed for four hours until he moved some strings and got it in the air. He needed to get to New York fast, he had a pending meeting with some Government Officials the next day and running late wasn't really an option. That was before the damned rain, of course.

LaGuardia airport was chaotic, people everywhere looking for a place to stay and Leon didn't think he was going to end in the same place, for one he had a room reserved in a near by Hotel. His plan fell apart, though. When he got to the Hotel and got told that his reservation didn't come through, making Leon just like those people in the airport.

He hated surprise visits. He really did and so he didn't even _bother_ to do them, but in this case… Leon had to admit that having a friend living near-by was a blessing. He had hoped to call Claire before making an appearance, but his cell-phone was out of service.

It was because of the rain, god damnit.

So, that's why he ended just outside Claire's door. Simply pondering to ring the bell or just leave. He seemed quite put off at the blaring music coming from inside—probably Gun's 'n' Roses, Claire's favorite band.

It was going to be awkward, he knew. Crashing in Claire's apartment for one night… was just out of the question. He couldn't remember why, but there was something that he couldn't put a finger on about the last time he stayed in her place.

_What's so wrong about it, anyways? Claire's your friend. _

There was a silence within his inner debate.

Well, _yes. _She was his friend, but also—

_In the Jungle, Welcome to the jungle!_

Leon blinked several times. He now really wondered if he was in the correct apartment. What was up with that strangled singing? He gazed at the number in gold at her door. 205. Yes, that was definitively Claire's.

He didn't have a choice. It was now or never.

.

.

Claire put the plate in the sink, deciding it was best to wash it later. She was feeling lazy and ready to head back to her couch.

Ding. Dong.

Who could be at this time and with this weather? She stretched some more, grabbed the remote and muted the radio for a second, and then she headed to the door, opening it without any second thoughts.

"Leon?" she said, her voice dubious. He was soaked and his hair was sticking to his face. She recognized him because he was wearing that leather jacket, his favorite since he came back from Spain. Well, that and the fact that he was kind of the only guy she knew.

He must have been in a horrible mess to end up like that! His clothes were trashed and wet and the mud in his hair wasn't going to come out so easily. And what was up with his face? He was beet red and frozen with an odd face… disbelief mixed with… realization?

"Claire…" was all that he could say.

Then he remembered why he was so _reluctant_ to crash in her place in the first place.

Claire Redfield had been alone her entire life, even if she had her over-protective brother to be with, he was never around that long. So, she had grown accustomed to her loner life, in her own apartment with her own rules. And one of those rules was that she liked to go about with short shorts and a bra.

Yep.

Another crossroad in his life, he could either ask Claire to put something on or not. Maybe she wouldn't even notice…

How wouldn't she notice with his eyes eating her like that? She was self-conscious all of the sudden and placed her arms over her chest, making a strong point in _not to look at her_.

"Thank you," he whispered, almost to himself.

"What can I help you with, Leon?" she asked, almost too distant.

He couldn't blame her, he was just about to ask her a favor and he had decided to ogle at her breasts first. Well played Leon, well played.

"I'm sure you've heard how the city collapsed." He began, his eyes almost pleading to her. Let me in, let me in. It's freaking cold here, "I was wondering if I could crash here. Just for tonight, my Hotel was booked… and…"

"Sure," she said, moving aside so he could enter. Just as Leon was about to cross the living room she added, "Just so you know, Chris is here. He won't be happy when he knows what you were just doing…"

He literally stopped dead on his tracks and strongly debated about running outside. He had _seen _the man back from his trip in Africa.

"Claire, I didn't mean—"

She threw her arms in the air, laughing heartedly. She gave him a pat in the back and the showed him the way to the bathroom.

"I was joking! C'mon, Leon. I'm a big girl already."

_I can see that. _

"Make yourself at home." She smiled warmly, then stroked—tugged violently—Leon's hair, "and stop staring like that."

"At least have the decency to put _something _on!" He said, almost yelling. He took refuge in the bathroom closed the door.

"Ugh, Leon!"

.

.

**Author's Note: **Well, I have most of these themes already written out, so I'm posting this one first to see if you guys like it! If you have anything to say, constructive suggestions or whatever, click the button below and send out a review! Thanks in advance and keep posted for the next chapters!


	2. It's Called a Bath and It Doesn't Hurt

**Author's Notes**: Thank so all for your lovely reviews! Here's the second theme, I hope you all enjoy it!

**Disclaimer**: Resident Evil belongs to Capcom.

**II**

**i t ' s c a l l e d a b a t h , a n d i t d o e s n ' t h u r t **

Claire closed the door after arriving from a very long day of work. The meeting at Terra Save had been quite dull. She was never fond of sitting in the same place for hours to begin with, and having to stand _five hours_ of fruitless debate brought her to her nerves. It was over now, though, and she was ready to have a long lazy night of listening to music and maybe, _maybe _reading those files they gave her today.

Yesterday had been kind of crazy too, with Leon running around her apartment. He had his own things to worry about and it seemed that working for the President was no piece of cake either. Well… _obviously_.

When had they become so… absorbed by work? They didn't have to run away from zombies anymore, so why couldn't they just sit and relax once in a while?

She dropped her purse somewhere near the couch and began to take off her jacket, making a mental note to keep herself decent for Leon. If she remembered correctly, Leon took her spare keys before leaving in the morning, so that'd mean he could come in any second. Better be careful.

She put on something more comfortable and decided it would be best to make something to eat. When Leon came home, he was probably going to be starving from his mission.

Claire blushed for a second, holding the two plates against her chest. She was acting like they were…

_Nah, I'm just being worrisome. _

She took her time to prepare whatever that came to her mind. She was kind of spontaneous while cooking; her product perhaps not the best example of gourmet cuisine, but it was her best effort.

Clack. Creak.

Claire stopped and looked over her shoulder. Apparently Leon was—

_Oh my God. _

She had to cover her nose to keep herself from vomiting. What was _that_ smell? It was coming from her living room and it made her remember the days she was used to be covered in zombie goo and other… stuff. Claire took a moment for herself before going to investigate the source.

With quiet steps she entered the room, looking around for anything suspicious. She had a big surprise when she saw Leon about to sit in her _white_ couch. He didn't seem to be covered in anything, but god… he reeked!

"_Leon._" She said, almost choking and keeping her hand on her nose.

The young man looked at her, a little surprised as well. He smiled and waved to Claire.

"Hey, I didn't know you were here." He then sat. He sat on the _white_ couch.

In two seconds, Claire tackled Leon out of the couch, avoiding any stains. She tried to take a breath of air but… she rather not at all. Something in Leon was… in decomposition or something.

"Good God, Kennedy," she said, groaning and getting up. "How dare you sit in my couch with that stench? Go take a bath."

"No," he said, handing Claire a set of keys, "I only got here to give this back to you. I have to take a plane in an hour and—"

"You're going to take a bath." She interrupted, hands on her hips.

"Claire, don't be childish. I don't have time for this." He spat back, clearly irritated. "I have to take a cab to the JFK."

The red-head gave him blank eyes, but he ignored her and turned to leave.

Bad move, Kennedy, she thought.

Claire took a step and grabbed Leon's arm with a tight grip.

"You're going to take a bath." She repeated, but this time she was gritting her teeth.

Leon looked at her as if she were crazy and tried to fight her for release. She tugged and Leon struggled. Claire led him to the near-by bathroom until they were both in and she locked the door. She took a breath to calm down, but Leon had her eyes on her.

"Claire," he called again, hoping to get some sense of reasoning back in the red-head. Her determined blue eyes locked on his for a second and she grabbed his leather jacket, hoping to tug it off him. He panicked, realizing that he was in a small room and about to get undressed by Claire Redfield. Why wasn't he feeling more… well, manly instead of the raging fear that was pounding inside his chest?

"I see you're not going to help me take off your clothes, Kennedy." She growled, still her hands on the jacket's collar. She looked at Leon's face, it was strangled by fear for a second and the other she saw something flicker in his deep blue eyes.

"You're going to take my clothes off," he said flatly; a statement rather than a question. Claire stopped to tug, pondering her actions and so he tried again, his voice low, "You're going to take my clothes _off_."

He was playing with fire here. Seriously, he had upset Claire by sitting on her white couch but why is he at fault? What's wrong with some body odor?

His little plan had worked and Claire was seemingly retreating. But Leon Kennedy wasn't done.

She had to pay for making him lose his plane. So, he slowly got close to her and trapped her between him and the shower door.

_Perfectly__ played, Kennedy. You're the boss here._

"Where are you going now? I thought we were going to…"

"Oh. Of course _you_ are." She smiled briefly, a flash of sweetness before turning into a scowl and opening the shower door with one swift movement.

Leon was caught by surprise when he was shoved inside, and let out a groan when the cold water splashed against him. Claire laughed merrily, closing the door after that and yelling from the outside.

"It's a bath, Leon! It's not like it's going to hurt you!"

.

.

**Author's Notes: **I hope you all liked this one! If you have any comments, suggestions, criticism or whatever, leave a review and I'll get back at you when I can. Happy New Year's Eve!


	3. Stargazing

**Author's Notes: **Happy New Years everyone! I hope this 2010 is awesome for all of you, and also thank you for lovely reviews and favorites. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer: **Resident evil is property of CAPCOM.

**III**

**s t a r g a z i n g**

Leon dried his hair with one of the towels Claire provided. He took his time while bathing, so when he got out she wouldn't be complaining. He's the one who should be angry at this point, as she made him lose his plane to D.C. because of her petty wishes.

_But still, I do anything to please her._

He didn't have any other choice but to stay another night at Claire's. She didn't seem to have any problem with it, but Leon on the other hand didn't have much experience with living with another person, a female for that matter. He has been always a loner, socially speaking. So, coping with another person wasn't easy for him, but Claire was different.

She seemed always open and kind, unless you got on her bad side, which consisted on being fed up by little, specific little things. _Claire_ things. Then crazy would happen and stuff would be thrown.

_Like yesterday, perhaps. _

After dressing himself with something comfortable, he decided to check on Claire. He heard her making dinner a while before he had been forced to take a bath, so she probably was still in the kitchen. He walked out of the small corridor to the living room and found Claire sitting in a small chair, staring into her big windows.

He stayed quiet, observing her thoughtfully. She was hunched over, her body in a strange position. She had her fingers on her mouth, probably biting her nails while thinking—something she only did when she was nervous. Her eyes were half-closed, probably tired from the entire ordeal earlier. He wondered why she didn't go bed, but as soon as he took some more steps closer into the room, he realized why she looked so concentrated.

The view from her apartment was really something spectacular. They were ten floors from the ground, and they could take a look at the whole area: the streets, the tall buildings, the people and especially the city lights. Claire didn't notice him there, but another quick glance made Leon understand that she wasn't really staring at the urban extravagance down below, but more at the night blue sky.

"I didn't know you were such a fan." He said, leaning on the couch's arm rest. Claire turned, a little taken by surprise. He then noted, "You know, you'll never see real starts up here."

"Hmhm, that's true. The buildings around here are too tall and too illuminated to even have a peak." She huffed, changing the topic. "How was the bath, anyways?"

"I'm alive." He joked with a crooked smile, "Thanks for letting me stay over… again."

"Well, it _was_ partially my fault." She returned the smile, shifting a little on the chair. "Say, has the President been though on you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Lately, you look tired." She commented, titling her head a little. "You were on Spain less than a month ago, and now you're getting called again. I mean, do you even have time to get tired?"

He seemed to reflect for a second, and then spoke again.

"It depends. Spain was a bit of a rollercoaster." Leon made a pause, really considering if it was alright to tell Claire about the mission he had to experience. He looked up at her, she was still sitting with her legs up in the chair, her knees close to her chest in a somewhat childish position and she was gazing at him rather intently, probably waiting for him to continue.

This was Claire. They hadn't been childhood friends or even shared more than two days together, but the connection they had was something strange, especial even. She had experienced the same horrible things in Raccoon City and it was possible that she also woke up every other night, haunted by nightmares. Her destiny wasn't as a secret agent for the Government like him, or with the B.S.A.A like her brother, Chris. She was an activist, a humanitarian for Terra Save, her place was in helping others—the direct victims of the disaster.

To put it in simply, he could trust her.

"Something… new was discovered. Nothing like the T-virus." She was listening carefully and seemed rather relieved that it wasn't other Outbreak. "It was still a nightmare, though. They were playing with innocent lives, and they planned to use the President's daughter as well."

"The president's daughter? That's why you were sent?" she inquired, raising her head a little.

"Hmhm,"

"Leon S. Kennedy, professional babysitter." She giggled, mostly to herself.

"I was_ not _babysitting." Leon replied, "Ashley Graham is old enough to take care of herself."

"Sure, but you had to save her every now and then. You always serve as the dutiful Knight in Shining armor, Leon."

_If you only knew__ how many times I had to do that. Ugh. _

"Well, you know I'm alwaysa proper gentleman." He chuckled at his own words, having a small flashback when he met Claire. He saved her at the time.

There was a brief silence, he was about to say something when Claire smiled, her eyes closing for a bit.

"This is weird," she started, letting her words hang in the air.

"What?" Leon asked, feeling somewhat offended. Wasn't he good company?

"This…" she threw her hands in the air, "You and me talking about something other than zombies."

"Well, there are always other things to talk about. It's not our fault our existence is defined by those things." He said, letting himself fall on the couch. He was probably going to sleep there anyway.

"Like what, for example?" Claire got up, her feet making a creaking sound in the wooden floor. She was probably up and stretching. Leon decided it was best to stay were he was, out of the sight of Claire in her short shorts.

"I don't know, uh…" he rested his hands on his stomach, looking blankly at the white ceiling. He blurted the first thing that came to his mind, "Us?"

Claire didn't say a word for what seemed an eternity, and she had stopped moving too as he didn't hear her steps anymore. Great, he had freaked her out.

It's time to rephrase that.

"I mean—"

"Our lives, right?'" Claire spoke first, leaning on the sofa and popping her head on Leon. He seemed relieved by her take on the conversation. "Well, you are in my life, you know? This is _all _I have about me."

She was obviously talking about the apartment. She_ had_ to be talking about the apartment.

"So… what about you, Mr. Kennedy? Any girlfriends waiting you back home in Washington?" Claire raised an eyebrow, clearly eager to know the answer.

"No one else besides Ashley, actually. Why do you ask?" He laughed as soon as she saw Claire's face twist with fake disgust.

"I never thought you were the type to sleep your way up, Leon!" She tried to choke him with one of the cushions but he clearly was too fast for her, dodging it with ease.

"I was joking!" he defended himself, putting him hands up for surrender.

"That's disgusting." She said half-seriously, probably fighting her urges to laugh. She walked around the couch, prodding Leon to move and give her some space. Finally, the young man got into a sitting position, letting Claire sit besides him.

Their conversation shifted into several topics, both making jokes in how basic their lives had become. Their voices died down little by little, and the silence filled the room for the rest of the night. They didn't fall asleep until the lights of the city began to turn off, giving a clear view of the stars in the sky. For hours, they stared at the window, probably looking for more than stars. Maybe, they were searching for a new beginning, a new hope to fight for each morning, or something like that.

_But, why do so when you're sole reason is sleeping in the crook of your neck?_

_._

_._

**Author's Notes: **This prompt ended diferently than I pictured it, but it was good overall. Hoped you all liked it, and if you have any comments, suggestions or critiques, don't forget to review.


	4. Caramelldansen

**Author's Notes**: This was one of the hardests prompts to write, due to it's random theme. I tried very hard for the characters not to seem OOC, but let's you guys judge that. Hope you enjoy!

**IV**

**c a r a m e l l d a n s e n**

Claire was preparing something in the kitchen when Leon popped his head in shyly, probably to ask her something. She couldn't _scold_ him enough for asking her to use stuff—she kept telling him that he could feel like home and didn't need to go around asking for permission like a little child. Well, apparently he forgot again.

"…Excuse me, Claire." He began with his voice low. Claire didn't bother to turn around. "Would you mind if I—"

"_No._" she replied annoyed, then she turned to him with a hand on her hips, "I don't mind, Leon. Knock yourself out on whatever you might need."

"I haven't even _told_ you what it is." He countered hastily, revealing himself completely in the kitchen.

She sighed and chuckled a bit.

"Alright," she dropped the towel she was using to dry the dishes, "What do you need?"

"Your laptop." Leon said with a hit of embarrassment, then he corrected himself, "I forgot mine and it's really urgent."

Claire gave him a blank stare. He was making all of that fuss just because he needed her laptop? Sometimes she just couldn't understand what was going through his head.

"Sure, no problem." She shrugged and got back to the dishes.

"Just like that?" he asked again, making her turn with a slight frown. "If it were me…"

"_Please, _Leon. What do you mean?" she looked at him suspiciously, "I'm not hiding anything in that laptop, so then why would that be a problem? I'm sorry, but we girls don't have hidden porn in our computers." Claire smiled kindly, her statement full of sarcasm.

Leon on the other hand stayed silent for a minute and then replied flatly:

"I don't hide porn in my laptop. It is purely for professional—"

"_Go._" She hissed with a menacing dish between her hands. That thing could be thrown at any second.

The young man quickly left the scene and while heading to Claire's studio he couldn't help to think about Claire's kindness. She didn't hesitate when it came to help people and Leon was one-hundred percent sure that she wasn't materialistic at all. Actually, just by looking at her belongings one could tell that she was really simple about things. The decorations were kind of lacking and the small things she had were probably gifts from Terra Save associates when she moved in: some flower pots, one or two lamps and a really strange statue of god-knows-what.

When he reached the studio, he realized that place was the only one that screamed _Claire._ There was a red desk and a matching chair along with several bookshelves that were almost empty. It seemed that the entire contents of the closest bookshelf was emptied over the desk… you really couldn't see where the laptop was, if there _was_ one to begin with. It took Leon some time to move all the papers and books without making another mess and ruining _Claire's mess_ which probably was organized in her… own terms.

"Gotcha," he opened the red Vaio and realized that it was already powered to begin with.

He smiled when he saw Claire's desktop background: a picture they had got taken in a road trip to Alabama with Chris, Jill, Rebecca and themselves. He decided to get to work, so he opened a new internet tab to quickly write his email, but he realized that there was a tab already open. It was a video.

"Hm." He stared blankly at the screen for about five minutes, pondering what to do.

Could it be?

_I'm sorry, but we girls don't have hidden porn in our computers__._

Okay.

Click.

And for about two full minutes Leon stared in disbelief at the computer screen. It flashed with psychedelic colors, the words "CARAMELLDANSEN" in the background and little girls dancing along some strenuous techno remix. Other than the fact that the voice sounded like a strangled chipmunk, Leon found himself bobbing his head along with the music until the end of the video.

When it ended, he was in shock. Not because of the ridiculous song, but of the context. He just watched _that_ in Claire Redfield's laptop.

Claire… she was like those crazed girls in the video? And what about those dance steps—

"Leon?" the aforementioned redhead was standing in the door, some boots and clothes in her hands. Apparently she was getting ready to go somewhere. "Did you finish with that? I got a notice from Terra Save that there was some meeting… hey, are you alright?"

Leon was still with his eyes glued to the laptop, and at Claire's calling he slowly turned himself in the chair. There was a long pause until he spoke again, his voice stiff and his deep blue eyes staring at hers.

"I have something important to ask you, Claire." He finally said, getting up and close to her. He was so close that he could hear her breath shortening in a gasp. "I hope your answer is… well, yes."

"Huh… what do you mean?" It was the only thing she could blurt out. Didn't Leon know about _personal space_? Oh my god, was he going to…

Had she even told him her feelings yet? Or had he guessed? Shouldn't they _date_ first? Oh god, what would CHRIS say—Did he even like Leon? Or would he punch him to death when he heard the news? Ever since he got back to Africa, he got HUGE arms and….

"What about showing me some Caramelldansen moves?" he whispered almost in her ear.

Claire took a breath and then felt how a red shade was creeping up to her cheeks. She pushed him aside and made sure that he never had the courage to smooth talk her like that.

"_Leon Kennedy_!"

Leon had to type his email while holding his gut for air as Claire didn't hesitate to give a free boot-smack.

.

.

**Author's Notes: **Sorry for spamming your inboxes with more updates, but I'm trying to put the story up to date since I've the majority of these prompts already written!


	5. If I had a Puppy

**Disclaimer:** Resident Evil is property of Capcom.

**V**

**i f I h a d a p u p p y … **

They had left Claire's apartment early in the morning to catch a cab to the Airport. Claire had promised Leon she would get him on time to catch his plane, unfortunately for him, that meant waking up to Claire hysterics of _where the hell are my keys?!_

The got way to early anyways, so after Leon checked in, they decided to have something to eat as the cafeteria seemed rather empty.

"Do you want some coffee?" he asked politely before heading to the counter. He eyed the line that was starting to gather there.

"Uh, sure. Double mocha, please." She smiled, grabbing one of the small pamphlets in the table to entertain her.

Leon left, leaving her to daydream. She had actually enjoyed his company in her apartment, well besides some arguments here and there.

_Why did Leon need to have the shower running for so long before getting in?__ Didn't he know that water was expensive and even better, limited? _

He claimed that Terra Save was getting to her head.

_That Leon…_

But now that he was going back to Washington, she would have to go back to those boring, _five hour_ long meetings that she just adored. No more midnight-talks with Leon, or getting her internet privacy mocked of.

_This is stupid, Claire! You're a strong__, independent woman. You don't need a man to make you feel better. _

Then again, she hasn't been with a man since…

"Urgh!" she exclaimed, irritated and embarrassed by her sudden realization, knocking all the pamphlets on the floor. She didn't see Leon looking at her oddly until she finished daydreaming. She was sure he had said something.

"Sorry…? There wasn't any double mocha." He apologized, "Do you want something else?"

"Uh, yeah. Um, orange juice." She quickly said, not really thinking about her answer. She said whatever came to mind, the last thing she wanted was Leon to see her miserable because of him leaving.

As soon as he was at a safe distance from her, she went back to her daydreaming.

It was true that she had been lonely for the last few months, but she entirely blamed Chris for that. For reasons unknown, he was sent to Africa for a mission, leaving her without anyone to rely on. Well, there was Leon, but it wasn't like she could calm him at two in the morning for just talking.

_Did I even have his cell phone number?_

She sighed, herthoughts drifting back to Leon.

_This was a new level of low, Claire Redfield. _

_Let's face it; he's probably_ _got a whole life back in Washington._

His boss was there, his work was there and she was sure that he owned an apartment as well. Hell, she could bet that Leon probably had something going on there, but he wasn't going to tell her any soon.

Of course, it was so obvious that she'd _decapitate_ him if he was going out with anyone.

_It's not because I like him. _

No, it was because Claire Redfield was just weird like that.

She rested her head on the table, bringing one of her hands through her red locks. She probably looked so _desperate_ right now. Leon came back several minutes' later, holding two coffees and with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry, the line got packed. I managed to get you a mocha," He placed the steaming cup of coffee in front of Claire, hoping that it'd wake her up from her state of misery. He had figured she didn't sleep well last night.

"I'm going to get a puppy." She blurted out, sipping from her coffee almost _violently_.

"_What?_" Leon sat down veryslowly, somehow trying to understand what was going on through the red-head's mind.

"Yes, that'd solve all of my problems." She replied, almost absent-mindedly. "It would be fun, at least!"

Leon decided to keep quiet, to at least see where this was going. They had an hour until boarding began, anyways.

Claire could ramble for an hour.

"I wonder about the name, something easy… maybe generic. That way I won't forget it," she spoke quickly, rushing in ideas. "Huh, what about when it needs to take a piss? Ugh, Maybe I'll even have to pay some sort of fee to keep that janitor's mouth shut about the puppy—I don't think there are any rules about it in the condo—OH!"

Leon blinked a few time because of the sudden outburst. Claire wasn't even looking at him; her big blue eyes were fixed like, in the air or something.

"I know! Chris will do it! When he comes back, at least… and…" Claire trailed off, probably because of another idea, but Leon stopped listening before she started talking again.

_She's not the type to have a pet. The poor thing would die from starvation because of her work. Besides, I thought she was too busy giving love to all those refugees to even take care of a puppy. Why the hell a puppy, of all things? Maybe she was just…_

Claire kept talking mostly to herself, but when she stopped for a sip of the coffee, she noticed Leon was writing something in the back of one of the pamphlets.

"What are you doing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She pursed her lips, feeling ignored. "Did you even listen half of what I was saying?"

He placed the pen back in the inner pocket of his jacket when he finished writing, and then handled the paper to her. It had 'Leon' written in it, along with a cell phone number.

"You don't need a puppy." He stated simply, his lips wanting to curve into a small smile. "If you're ever feeling lonely, call me to this number."

"What?" she muttered in disbelief, still with the piece of paper in her hand. Leon got up as soon as a blush crept up to her cheeks.

"Gotta catch that plane, Claire." He then smiled, pleased with himself.

She stood and tried to stop him, but words weren't coming out from her mouth. She looked down at Leon's number again and felt really, well, really embarrassed.

_Ugh, Leon! You smooth-talker!_

She carefullyfolded the paper and placed it inside her pocket. You never know.

.

.

**Author's Notes:** Hope you like it!


	6. 99 100

**Author's Notes: **This topic was... interesting, mainly because it really didn't specific anything!

**Disclaimer: **Resident Evil is property of CAPCOM.

**VI**

**9 9 / 1 0 0**

Claire held her cell phone in her shaking hand, staring at it with a burning gaze and thinking twice before dialing the number she had in that small piece of paper.

_I'm not feeling lonely. I'm not._

That was her final thought before clicking 'send'.

_Today, in the e__vening report we got some news on the most recent viral attacks in China. It seems that the Asian pharmaceutical company…_

Leon was sitting in his bed, laptop on his lap and the news on the TV. There were rumors going on about a possible Outbreak in China, another branch of the TriCell Company being pointed as possible suspects. Apparently Channel 5 got its hands on the news, but no names were released. He sighed in frustration, getting the remote and turning the TV off to give all of his attention to his laptop.

Until the White House called, he was without job, so he began surfing the internet looking for something to do. It was then when his cell phone rang.

_Perfect timing, I guess. I bet it's Hunnigan. _

He grabbed it from the night stand and was surprised to encounter an unknown caller ID. That _almost_ never happened, given that only… five? Yes, five people had his cell phone number. There was one time that he answered an unknown caller, though.

_It turned out to be Ashley. _

That didn't turn out very well.

He shrugged, and given the fact that he was bored, he answered it.

"Kennedy," he made sure his voice sounded particularly threatening. Just in case, you know.

The other end of line kept silent for a while, until a shy female voice broke out, "Leon?"

"Uh, Claire?" his voice broke down, startled. How did Claire have his—

_Oh. _

_OH. _

So before she could even answer back, he spoke with his voice smooth and low:

"So, Redfield. Feeling lonely?"

Silence and then… nothing. She had hanged up.

_Damnit!_

Quickly, he searched for the number again and redialed it. He just made a fool of himself and he had to fix that.

It ringed three times and then he got redirected to voice mail. Leon grumbled, dialing again and again and he would keep doing so until she grabbed the damn—

The device vibrated on his ear, indicating a new text message. He looked at the ID and it was the same as Claire. He opened it and he was met with a very short, but blunt text message:

_i'm not_ _feeling lonely. stop being a douche, kennedy_.

He chuckled, clearly picturing Claire having at fit and throwing something across the room. He managed to reply in a few seconds.

_sorry, i will never do it again. truce_?

Seconds after, her answer was flashing through the screen.

_no. what was up with that voice anyways_?

_it was my mafia voice_, he quickly typed, trying to suppress the grin that was creeping over his face. He finally added: _can I call you now?_

As soon as he sent the text, it began ringing again. He picked up and Claire's angry voice was present in the other end of the line.

"You're such a kid, Leon. How old are you, five?"

"It was just a small joke, Claire. There's no need to be all flared up," He replied, placing the laptop to the side. He heard her huff, just as he expected, "This is not how I imagined our first phone call to be."

"And how is it supposed to be—Wait, I don't think I_ want _to know." She answered, a little more cheery now. "Well, just so you know I found some of _your_ papers here. Does the 'CIA entry test ' ring a bell to you, Leon?"

Of course it did. He got a perfect score in that one.

"Sure, what about them?"

"Well… I'm just surprised that you got a ninety-nine," she commented, he voice taking another turn. She sounded pleased, and about to laugh.

"_What_?" he shot up from the bed, "That's impossible. I aced that thing."

"Nope. That's not what this says, Leon," she laughed, the paper flipping clearly audible in the background, "I have only one thing to say: you need to learn to write you _own_ name properly, Mr. _Lean Z. Kemedy_."

He stood for a while with his mouth open.

"Lean?" she teased, trying to get to answer.

"First, that's an 'o' not an 'a'. Second, it's not my fault my handwriting is blocky—and those were _two_ ns."

"Are you sure you don't want a calligraphy book for you next birthday?" she said innocently.

"Claire," he began, trying to explain.

"Oops, sorry. I have an incoming call from Chris! Call you later." She laughed merrily and then hanged up.

Leon kept staring at the cell phone's screen for several minutes. He sat down back on his bed and saved Claire's number, and then his fingers moved swiftly to write a text message.

After talking to Chris for about an hour, Claire was ready to head to bed. However, just as she was about to close her eyes and drift into the world of nightmares, her phone buzzed. She rolled her eyes when she saw the ID.

_my handwriting is not that bad._

Claire yawned, and then she texted back at the stubborn ex-police agent.

_get over it LEAN. gonna head to bed. __ttyl._

She rubbed her eyes and lied back on the bed, closing her eyes.

Buzz.

_Leon, I'm trying to sleep here…_

She grabbed it and smashed a key to see the message.

It better be good or…

_k. dream of me. nite_.

_Leon… _

_._

_._

**Author's Note: **I hope you all enjoyed this one, although this was the shortest one... yet. I'm still on my way in writing the other ones, so keep an eye for updates! Also, thanks for the lovely reviews, they really motivate me to keep going!


	7. Mosquitoes in Alabama

**Disclaimer: **Resident Evil belongs to Capcom.

**VII**

**m o s q u i t o e s i n a l a b a m a**

It seemed like Claire's wishful thinking was about to come true. A few months had passed since Chris came back from Africa, bringing back the news about Jill and Wesker. It took time for his partner to recover properly, and when she finally felt better Chris decided that they all should take some time off, at least for a weekend. Claire suggested that they traveled to their family house, located somewhere in Alabama.

"Do you have everything?" she asked to Leon, who was still loading the truck. He had the Government give him something big, just in case. You never knew how much space you'd need with Claire. "Don't forget the fan, okay?"

_God knows why she __wants to take an electric fan to Alabama. _

"Uh, I think so," he let out a groan, slamming the door shut. He walked over to the driver's side, "Why didn't you go in Chris' car, anyway?"

"Are you saying you don't want me to ride with you?" she asked, somewhat offended by his words. She stood in front of the door, without opening it.

"That's not what I meant," he quickly corrected himself, "I figured that since Chris' back…"

"I'm not that dependant on him!" she argued, getting inside the car and facing Leon. "Don't be all sore because I prefer Chris over you, Leon," she smiled innocently, finishing putting on her seatbelt, "_Besides_, he drives like a madman."

"Really," he replied, turning the engine on and watching Chris' car leave with a loud roar and a cloud of dust, "Well, let's hope you know the way."

They were getting out of New York when Claire finally felt like talking. Leon was too concentrated in the road, and when he heard the young woman's voice he knew she wasn't going to stop sometime soon.

"Leon, do you think Jill and Chris have something going on?" she asked, her head peeking out of the window.

"Why do you say that?" he said, turning the wheel as they head into a curve.

"Well, he talks to her in the phone for _hours_," she turned her head to Leon, noticing the small smile forming in his lips, "What?"

"We talk in the phone for hours too. Do you mean _we_ have something going on?" he commented calmly, briefly looking at her before returning his eyes into the road.

"_No_," she went quiet for a while, probably thinking about the implications about what she just said. She felt silly all of the sudden.

"Why do you worry about that, though?" it was Leon's turn to start, shrugging, "I thought that they were partners?"

"That's true, but… just by looking at them, you can _tell_."

"That there's something romantic going on between them?" Leon scoffed, shaking his head, "Claire, I think your brother is _big_ enough to take care of himself. He can fall in love too, right?"

"I… guess." she titled her head to the side, resting it on the window's glass, "It's kind of hard to accept."

"What?" Claire was being really vague today, "Realizing that Chris is _actually_ your big brother and that he's, uh, growing up?"

"He certainly _grew _up, but I mean it in the most philosophical sense," she shifted in her seat, bringing one leg under her body. She usually did that when she was about to get into a long argument.

_Oh, boy._

"What if he settles down, marries and even…" Claire trailed off, her blue eyes widening a little.

Leon took a quick glance at her, guessing that she had come to a realization.

"What if he doesn't need me anymore—oh my God," she placed one hand over her mouth. Leon chuckled lightly, "Hey, this is not funny! This is my life we're talking about here, Mr. Kennedy."

"You're starting to freak out over nothing, Claire." Leon let out another laugh, "How can you be so sure that he's going to marry Jill?"

"Well, I—"

"Give it a rest, Redfield. Maybe it's better to worry when you see Jill with a big rock on her finger. Until then, no more freaking out over Chris again, alright?"

Claire crossed her arms and let herself fall on the back of the seat, huffing. He had probably upset her, but Claire needed to be put in places sometimes. She was a natural worrier.

Leon thought to tune in some music, to ease the mood, but Claire stopped from doing so by speaking again. This time her voice wasn't as strong in her previous arguments—it sounded not quite _confident_.

"I mean, you know what it's like, right?" Claire let her arms fall to the sides, eyeing Leon.

"What is what like?" he asked, almost irritated.

_Where__ is she getting at…?_

"Falling in love," she finally blurted out. Moments later, her face almost gave away the fact that she really didn't mean to say that.

Their eyes met, both of them surprised. Claire's gaze was intense, searching for unsaid words in the young man's deep blue eyes. Leon decided it was time and he opened his mouth to say—

"_Watch the road, motherfucker_!"

In a blink of an eye, Leon got his hands on the steering wheel, making the truck do a sharp turn and avoiding a vehicle that almost collided with them. Claire let out a gasp, recovering from the shock some minutes later.

"Leon, you _suck_ at driving! You're worst than Chris!" she finally exclaimed, a hint of a joke behind her angry voice, "You are never supposed to take your eyes off the road!"

_Well, I wouldn't have if someone hadn't dropped a bomb on me. _

"I know," he replied flatly, with both hands on the wheel now. "But it wasn't _my_ fault."

"Please—_who_ are you going to blame? The mosquitoes on the front window?" the red-head folded her arms again, watching him with a smug smile.

_Actually I was going to say _Claire Redfield_, but now that you insist… _

"Yeah, the mosquitoes." He finally replied. For the rest of the trip, he didn't let his eyes wander off the road.

Unless Claire decided to ask some more heart-stopping questions, that is.

.

.

**Author's Notes: **I had lots of problems with this one because of the random topic, but I think the result was okay. Hope you all liked and thanks for the reviews!


	8. Global Warming

**Disclaimer: **Resident Evil is property of Capcom.

**VIII**

**g l o b a l w a r m i n g**

Several hours had passed and Leon could feel his t-shirt actually _gluing_ itself to his torso. The temperature had risen and he had tried to turn on the air conditioner for a total of ten times during the trip, but Claire was a though cookie to break. Now that the road was almost deserted, he glanced to the side: Claire was leaning on the window, apparently asleep.

This was his chance.

He moved his right hand slowly, the other firmly holding the wheel, his finger approaching to the a/c…

Smack.

"Damnit, Claire," he glanced at his now red hand, grumbling.

"I thought I already told you why you can't turn that on, Leon," Claire looked at him sternly and more importantly, fully awake.

"I thought you were asleep—"

"Think of this as a test to your will power," she spoke watching Leon's face cringe, several drops of sweat running down his face. "Do you need me to explain again why I work for Terra Save?"

"_No_—"

"Yes, I know. You only think we are a bunch of crazy activists to stop bio-terrorism," she scoffed, imitating Leon's voice for a second, "But that's not all there is to us, Leon. We _actually _care about our environment and here's news for you, we want to _save_ it from people like you who want to turn on their a/c instead of enjoying the natural breeze!"

"It's almost thirty-eight degrees _Celsius_," he complained, pointing at the digital thermometer inside the car.

Claire didn't budge at all. Leon decided to play dirty.

"Look, even you're beginning to look a little greasy on the face…" he mentioned carelessly, hoping her reaction would be—

"_What_? I'm not greasy!" Claire gasped in horror.

… That one.

While Claire leaned in into the visor to look closely at her face, Leon took his chance to slip his hand and welcome the cold breeze in his face.

That only lasted about three seconds total before meeting the rage of Claire Redfield.

"_Leon_!" she almost shrieked to his face, turning it off.

"Okay, okay. I'm _sorry_, but I'm practically melting here." He defended himself.

"Maybe you wouldn't be so hot if you took your _leather_ jacket off, you moron." Claire noted with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm hot." Leon finally said, sharing her smile.

"Oh, shut up."

"Well, at least could you do me a favor?" he asked, his voice defeated, "Can you hold the wheel while I take it off?"

"Why don't you pull over for a second?" Claire suggested.

"Do you want to have Chris calling us _again_ as for why we haven't arrived?" Leon didn't know how he did it, but he had managed to get to the Redfield's cottage an hour prior.

"I told you to take the other exit, but you didn't listen—"

"_Claire,_" he aggravated, not clearly in the in the mood to argue with her, "Just hold the wheel."

She stopped complaining and undid the clasp of her seat belt, leaning over to Leon's seat very carefully without trying to move anything and getting themselves killed. Leon shifted a bit, trying to find a comfortable position to take his jacket off, making it a little too difficult, given the fact they were very close to begin with.

Claire sighed, frustrated and clearly giving a look to Leon to _hurry up_, but when he finally took it off she finally could see why he was so eager to turn the air conditioner on in the first place.

For one, he was wearing a black t-shirt, and we all knew how black could make you feel warmer than wearing any other color, but the shirt was also _very_ tight.

He was so freaking hot.

…_Because of the heat. Not because of that six p—No. _

Was his mouth moving? She kind of stopped paying attention.

"Claire!" He yelled, pressing himself on her and regaining the control over the truck. Apparently the vehicle had deviated from its course while Claire _looked_. "I told to look at the road!"

The red-head was stuck between Leon's abs and the wheel, and that, my friends, was very though position. She tried her best not to blush and especially, _stare_. When they were back on the road, she turned and went back to her place, putting her seat belt on again.

"What happened?" he asked, looking more refreshed.

"I got distracted," she said simply.

"Really now," a trace of a smirk formed in Leon's lip, "I thought _I_ was the bad driver."

"Well, I was in a complicated position, alright?" she replied firmly, and then her voice gave her away, "…and I got distracted."

Leon looked at her sheepish expression, and then added:

"Mosquitoes, am I right?"

"Totally." She said with relief, but something in Leon's grin made her think otherwise.

.

.

**Author's Note: **This is one was pretty short but one of my favorites, hope you guys like it!


	9. One Plus One equals a Thousand

**Disclaimer: **Resident Evil is property of Capcom.

**IX**

**o n e p l u s o n e e q u a l s a t h o u s a n d**

Finally, they were close to the Redfield's cottage, about half an hour away. However, Leon didn't think he would take more of _Claire_ any longer. It wasn't because she had decided to take off her jacket because of the heat, and she looked, well, quite _distracting_… but because she was bored. A bored Claire Redfield was something everyone should beware of, because you'd never know what kind of stunt she'd pull for her entertainment.

"One," she said quietly, her eyes fixed in the car's window.

Leon kept silent, wondering what she was doing _this _time. She couldn't keep quiet. They had talked and argued for hours, and when they ran out of conversation topics, Claire started playing silly games with him, just to annoy him. He got to have forty-five minutes of peace when she decided to take a nap, but besides that, it was just her talking all the time.

She never knew when to stop, always prodding Leon for an answer. He was glad they weren't dealing with any touchy, personal issues, but it was best from him to keep his mouth shut. If they got deviated again, Chris would personally break his neck when they got there. Only God knew what was going in her overprotective, big brother's head.

He took a glance at her, apparently distracted by looking at the window. Her eyebrows were scrunched together, concentrated.

"Ten," she kept going, watching a red car go past them.

"What are you doing, exactly?" he finally spoke, curious.

"Oh, eleven!" she exclaimed as another red car passed by. She turned for a second, "What does it look like? I'm keeping track of the red cars."

She spoke eloquently, raising one single eyebrow and giving him an odd look. She shook her head and returned to look through the window. Sure, that made sense.

_Except, not. _

"Alright, let me ask you again," Leon began, this time slowly, "_Why_ are you doing that?"

"Leon, haven't you _ever_ played this game?" Claire said with disbelief, fully turning to have a good look at him.

He shrugged, not really seeing the point in her argument.

"No, I haven't." he replied flatly.

"But, it's such a classic!" She argued, her voice getting accelerated, "I did it all the time with Chris, when we travelled together."

Leon seemed to understand, bobbing his head to the side.

"Well, you can easily end this game."

"Really. And how is that, hm?" Claire teased.

"One plus one, equals a thousand. There, game over." He said, a hint of arrogance dressing his low-tone voice.

"Please, Leon. That's cheating." Claire waved her hand to the side carelessly, paying no attention to his sarcastic undertone, "Besides, you've got no _experience_ whatsoever in this game. Good try, though."

Leon chuckled inwardly at Claire's logic and let her carry on with her game.

On the other hand, Claire was getting a little tired of keeping track of all those red cars. Apparently, it was a very hip color to have nowadays. She sighed and leaned back on her seat, catching a glimpse to those welcoming signs she was so used to when she was a kid.

_The Beautiful Alabama, how many memories…_

Her mind wandered back when she was a still a little girl, traveling with Chris in a rusty old van, scared that they'd get caught with his fake ID. It was surreal for her to think of a time when there weren't any zombies or bloody nightmares. It was a long forgotten past, sleeping in the back of her mind—when it was just her and her older brother.

"Leon, did you travel with your family as well?" Claire asked out of the blue, her head now resting in one of her knees.

"Huh, no. Not really." He scratched his head, not really understanding why she was even remotely interested in his family. "Why do you ask, anyways?"

"I was just curious. I mean, you _had_ a life before we met. Before Umbrella… " she stopped mid-way, reflecting about her own words, "Ever thought of going back to that, Leon?"

"To my old life?" he asked, almost as he just heard a bad joke, "I didn't have one to begin with—I lasted only _a day_ as a cop, remember?"

"You were a pretty good cop to me. Saving the damsels in distress, Mr. Kennedy." She smiled warmly, meaning her words.

"Well, I keep doing it, you know. Me, saving the ladies." She saw a flash of a smile.

"Oh, don't let it get to your head!"

"Alright, alright—oh, where do I turn?" Leon asked before arriving to a dead-end.

"Turn right. It's the house with the blue-roof." She told him, pointing him to the far-end of the street.

Leon parked right by the garage, behind Chris flaming Toyota, somehow picturing the image of little Claire sitting in the entrance stairs, waiting for Chris. He smiled at the thought.

He couldn't help to wonder about where his life would have been right _now_, if it weren't from Umbrella. He would be probably leading a quiet life, maybe as a Police Chief in the R.P.D, or something like that. Claire wouldn't be anywhere near him, thought. They wouldn't have ever met if it weren't for all of that _crap_, anyways.

But did he really want that, a quiet and boring life? He should be thankful, he was helping to make a change somehow.

_Besides…_

He trailed off, killing the engine and then walking over to open Claire's door. The red-head jumped down off the truck, careful not to fall and then looked at Leon. He had his eyes glued to his wrist watch.

"So," he spoke, "How many seconds do I have until Chris barges through the front door?"

"Actually, just five,"

Claire was about to smile, but Chris was already outside, chasing Leon's head.

It was going to be one hell of a weekend.

.

.

**Author's Notes**: This theme was rather annoying and dragging to write, but I managed to do it nonetheless... hope you guys aren't getting bored now! Questions, critiques, suggestions and the like? Please review, then.

Cheers!


	10. Karaoke Time!

**Disclaimer: **Resident Evil belongs to Capcom.

**X**

**k a r a o k e t i m e !**

When they finally finished putting their things in its place, it was already dark. The Redfield's family house was located in a very quiet neighborhood, and Leon was very glad not to hear the bustling nightlife of Washington just outside his window.

The young secret agent took a moment to analyze his surroundings. He could bet that he staying was at Chris' former room. There were some things from his childhood scattered around, but besides that, the room was plainly decorated with a faint military green on the walls, a bed and a nightstand.

He opened one of the drawers, just in case. Leon was slightly paranoid, and he tended to search every inch of the place he currently stayed, be it inside an expensive five star hotel, or even in Claire's house. With a swift movement he placed his nine millimeter under his pillow, just in case.

He remembered he _once_ got slapped by Claire, thinking he was searching through her underwear drawers.

_How would I know she kept her bras in the top drawer, anyways?_

Downstairs, he could still hear Claire fighting with Chris about how wrecked the place was. Apparently, the former S.T.A.R.S had been coming here regularly, but he didn't pay any mind to the house's maintenance. However, Leon thought it was a pretty decent house, much better that any of his family could afford. Also, he caught a glimpse of several family photos at the entrance, most of them including Claire with brackets and pigtails, Chris as a rookie cop and even a portrait of a big, happy family. When they arrived, he remembered the sight Claire's painful eyes while looking at, quickly directing her gaze somewhere else.

_Loosing your family like that, it must be though. _

He couldn't say he was as attached to his family now, as he was before but he couldn't bear the thought of suddenly losing them. He had to give it to Claire, she was a really strong woman—never letting anyone see what was _really_ going through her head, besides the trivial ranting she tried to cover them up with.

The discussion downstairs died for some minutes until Claire squealed in surprise. Chris came banging on the door several minutes later.

"Hey, Kennedy," his head popped through the door, "There's no need to search the whole room. There are no bombs or hidden microphones under the bed. I only keep those in Claire's room."

"Very funny," the ex-police man said with a trace of a smile, "What's going on downstairs?"

"Oh, Claire just found our old Karaoke machine," Chris said, "I'm going to get some beers for later. You drink, right?"

Leon only nodded, figuring it would be rude to say otherwise. He had given up the habit of drinking after he over-slept days prior starting in the R.P.D. He arrived one day later than scheduled. It's funny how _that_ saved his life.

"Alright, I'm going to go buy some with Jill," he said, closing the door before leaving.

_He's going to come back…_

"I've got _cameras_, Kennedy."

And that was the last thing he said before really leaving the room. Leon was sure he didn't mean that because he was afraid of losing any belongings.

Claire had really found a hidden jewel, but making it work was an entirely different thing. The machine was covered in dust and some of the cables were probably already eaten by rats. She was still messing with it, though. She heard Leon's quiet steps coming down from the stairs, but he stood behind her without saying a word for a quite a while, probably watching her solve the puzzle of the cables.

"Need help with that?" he finally offered, taking a seat in the floor, beside her.

"Sure, are you tech savvy?" Claire asked, not really waiting for his answer, "Ugh, where does this cable go?"

"What about—red goes with red, yellow with yellow and…" he tried his luck, applying some common sense. Everyone knew that, but apparently Claire _still_ had issues text messaging.

"Very funny, Leon," she frowned, fiddling with some tangled cords until undoing them, five minutes later, "What about connecting that over there?"

Leon did as told, finally watching the TV's screen light up with some tacky letters: "KARAOKE TIME!" it read. Just by the looks of the machine and the video quality, he could say that this was actually really _old._

"Where did you find this, Claire?" he asked, somewhat curious about the origins of the almost antique karaoke.

"It was stuffed under the sofa. I was actually surprised to find it!" Claire seemed excited, throwing one of the rather outdated microphones to Leon, "C'mon, let's give a try!"

"Uh, Claire, I don't—" he stammered.

"Don't be so shy. No one else will be listening anyways." she was already going through the list of songs with the remote control.

"Claire I don't _sing_." He said matter-of-factly, one of his hands going through his hair in frustration.

"Just this time—Oh!" her eyes flickered with something Leon understood as excitement when she found some lists with really old songs, "We _have_ to sing this one."

"Uh, 'I think I love you' by David Cassidy?_ Why?_ Isn't that a 70's song?" he always thought of Claire of the Guns-n-Roses type of girl. Picturing her singing a really mellow love song… well, it just wasn't her style.

"Yup," Claire hit the play button and within seconds the room was filled with that cheesy sound that just screamed 70's.

She began mumbling into the microphone, just as the small letters in the monitor said.

_Ba, ba, ba, ba.  
Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba.  
Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba._

Leon gave her a horrified look when she motioned him to sing the next part. He shook his head. He wasn't going to sing 'I Think I Love You' to Claire Redfield. It was just, no.

_I never wanted it to be this way…_

She furrowed her eyebrows, huffing but still following the song. She sang heartedly, almost too childish. Her voice wasn't by all means perfect, it was off in some places but it somehow felt like she was doing it on purpose. Claire _looked_ like she was a good singer. Another paragraph came up and Leon couldn't bear Claire's burning gaze anymore.

_At least no one is here to listen… or blackmail me. _

He sighed and then took a breath, preparing himself for the next part. Claire almost ended up laughing by the look in Leon's face when he began singing.

_This morning  
I woke up with this feeling  
I didn't know how to deal with  
And so I just decided to myself  
I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it  
And didn't I go and shout it  
When you walked into my room._

Claire joined him in the chorus, moving her legs and arms along with the rhythm.

_I think I love you.  
So what am I so afraid of?  
I'm afraid that I'm not sure of  
A love there is no cure for._

They both stared at each other. Claire was in the verge of laughing by Leon singing, while he was desperately trying to put away his paranoid thoughts of the implications of the song. She kept dancing, clearly having a good time and closing her eyes in the process. The last verse was coming up.

_I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you.  
Oh, I think I love you_

Their voices resonated in the living room, not only filling it with sound and laughter, but with a new found peace in each other. Claire looked pleased, even if the score was one of fifty over one-hundred.

"Whoa, I think…" she began, her cheeks still red from laughing, "I will never forget this. Leon Scott Kennedy was singing before my very own eyes!"

Leon groaned inwardly. She wasn't going to let it go until a few days had passed.

"Yeah, yeah. You got what you wanted," he said, letting himself fall in the sofa in front of the TV. He still couldn't believe he had just done that. Claire followed, sitting besides him with a broad smile, "Am I really that good singer?"

"You wish. But yes, I'm… happy," she finally said, as if searching for the right word. Happy was something she hadn't fully felt in a long time. "That song," she added, her smile slowly fading away, "My parents used to sing it all the time when they bought that thing. It was their favorite."

_Oh, that's why…_

Claire didn't stare at him, her head sinking in her hands. Leon felt a stinging sensation in his gut. He'd have never guessed it was the real reason behind it. They stayed like that for a while, Leon watching over Claire while she sobbed quietly. He scooted a little bit closer and lowering his head to her level.

"Hey,"

"This is stupid," she said, her voice still a little bit shaky. "I'm sorry Leon, I shouldn't have—"

"What are you talking about? We beat your parents, look at the screen."

She did so, and the top scores displayed in the TV. Apparently her parents never got to score over twenty.

"Huh, what do you know…?" Claire smiled, bringing her hands up to her face and wiping off the few tears that she had shed. "Thanks Leon, even if you suck at singing."

"… _Thanks_, Claire."

.

.

**Author's Notes**: This was highly inspired by ShadowLeggy's youtube flash videos in YouTube, I think you should all check it out! Anyways, this chapter was really fun to write and very easy to do... so I hope you all enjoy it! I promise there's actually a real 'plot' in these drabbles, with those might come after this 'arc' ends.

Got comments, suggestions, critiques or whatever? Don't be shy and use the review button down bellow. Have a nice day!


	11. Novelization

**Disclaimer:** Resident Evil belongs to Capcom.

**XI**

**n o v e l i z a t i on**

Chris and Jill arrived a little later than expected. Chris and Leon drank most of the beer, while Claire and Jill chatted for the most part. The clock was past midnight when they all decided to call it quits, and head up to bed. Leon walked through the corridor, noticing that the double doors leading to the principal bedroom were slightly open. He could've sworn he saw Jill and Chris in that bed.

_Bastard. I don't think I'm __the one to be worried about the cameras, Chris. _

Now in his room, Leon kicked off his boots and lied on the bed for a while, just glancing at the ceiling. As much as he would like to sleep, he wasn't tired, not even from the long hours driving to Alabama. He sat on the bed, empting the contents of his pockets, placing his cell phone on the night table and checking for his gun under the pillow. He grabbed his suitcase from under the bed and took out a yellow folder, deciding it was better to do something productive with his time if he wasn't going to sleep. Reading work files would have to do it.

According to the report, there was something going on in China. Something _other_ than nuclear weapons and overpopulation, he assumed. It talked about a Pharmaceutical Company—with a name he couldn't even pronounce—and it's doing in that particular country. It seemed that they managed to buy a sample of the T-Virus from a former and probably already dead member of White Umbrella. He was curious as of why it was taking them so long to call him into the mission, but then again, it wasn't like he was eager to go into another mission so soon.

There were some names, mostly of them Asian and some German businessmen as well. For Leon, it looked like a black-market kind of deal than an Outbreak. And he liked it that way.

He reread the file a couple of times before putting it aside with a sigh. He rubbed his temple, frustration getting the best of him.

He just _knew _they were going to call him sooner or later.

Knock, knock.

Leon didn't answer. It was three in the morning.

But then again, he didn't have to. Claire came into the room with long bang from opening the door.

"_Chris_!" she hissed deadly, holding what seemed to be a small microphone device. "How dare you put this in my—Leon?"

"I didn't think he was _actually_ being serious when he told me that he had placed those in your bed room, Claire."

"Well, yes but—Ugh, where is he. And why are you sleeping here? I thought we agreed on you sleeping in the visitor's room and Jill…" Claire trailed off, clearly realizing what had happened there. "He's in my _parents' room_, am I right?"

"Yes," Leon answered flatly, and as soon as he saw Claire turn around and leave the room he added, "with Jill. I don't think you want barge in at this hour."

"Oh, I'm going to _kill_ him," she said, clearly in a bad mood. "How old does he think I am, fourteen?"

"Give him some credit, Claire. He just looking out for you," Leon said, somewhat understanding Chris' motives, ignoring the fact that he was literally looking out for _him_.

"Yeah, while he gets to bang Jill in the other room," She crossed her arms, sitting on the edge of his bed with a pouting look.

"Let's _not_ talk about it," he suppressed an incoming laugh, then glanced at the younger Redfield, "What are you doing up so late, uh, early?"

"I never slept in the first place," Claire admitted with a sheepish expression, and then she let escape a chuckle, "I went through some stuff in my bedroom. I can't believe how many memories it has."

_It bet her room is still pink. _

"What's with that face?"

"Nothing," he replied, a hand over his hair. "So, now you think of crashing in my room, Claire?"

"Well, unless you want to see mine. Chris probably got cameras, though." Claire joked, leaning in a little with a sly smile.

"Lucky us that he decided to keep his own room free of any devices,"

Claire nodded, her eyes wandering over to the files Leon was reading a while ago. She raised one eyebrow and then gave him an accusing look.

"Have you been _working_ in your _vacations_, Mr. Kennedy?"

"I was just getting updated in a case, nothing serious." He spoke truthfully, not wanting to upset Claire any longer. She was really clear about wanting to relax this weekend. "I suppose you have your own share of reports to read, TerraSave and all, right?"

Her features seemed to be stricken by sudden guilt at the mentioning of the NGO. Claire had a hard time back at the Harvardville incident, realizing that the organization she was working for had committed a terrible mistake. She felt responsible, and that's why she was starting to hate to the very core going to their meetings or even getting involved with it.

"I just…" she began after minutes of inner reflection, "I don't know, Leon. After all that's happened, how should I react? I have even thought of leaving TerraSave many, many times, and—"

"Claire, you don't have to feel guilty about it. It has been months now," Leon tried to cheer her up, but to no avail, "Besides, what you're doing there it's great. Sure, the meetings can be tedious, but…"

"What if the organization looses its course? What if… what if _another _Umbrella happens?" she spoke strongly, her eyebrows scrunched up together with worry, "I can't bear with that thought, I just… can't."

"There won't be another Umbrella. I think everyone learned from that," he said, "What's with all this _whimpering_? This is not the Claire I know."

"I'm _not_ whimpering," she tried to return the joke, but quickly felt silent afterwards.

"Don't you feel like our whole life is like a novel?" Leon commented after a long sigh, not particularly interested in talking about their jobs anymore. He knew Claire wouldn't leave TerraSave, even if her life depended on it.

Claire tilted her head to the side at his words, not following him.

"What are you talking about? Do you even read _novels_?"

"Well, I mean that in the most philosophical way. When you begin reading a novel, you don't know how it's going to end, right?" Leon explained, even if the last one he read was in high-school.

"Most of times I look at the last page without even reading the novel," the red-head admitted with a smile.

"That's cheating—"he argued, "That's like wanting to know the day you're going to die—it's stupid."

"I'm _sorry_. Will you tell me why are you saying that, hm?" Claire grabbed one of the nearby pillows, just in case she needed to throw one at him while forcing him to answer.

"No, I actually shouldn't. I mean, we're on vacations, aren't we?" He smirked, almost too quickly for her to notice.

"Oh, please! Leon you were the one who was reading reports in the first place," Claire complained childishly.

"Shush now. Do you want your brother to find you're here?" Leon hushed.

"He'll notice anyway in the morning, when he runs a check on the house," she shrugged, scooting closer to him, "Move over,"

"What?" he tried to remain as calm as possible when Claire placer herself next to him on the _bed_.

"Give me some space. You're hogging the entire bed, Leon."

"Maybe that is because it's made for _one_ person?" he replied, his voice heavily hinted by sarcasm.

"Do you want Chris to come into this room, _right now_?" Claire teased, now getting under the covers.

"No—"

_Oh god, No. _

"Then, Mr. Kennedy, I suggest you shut up and move."

.

.

**Author's Note: **We're getting to the turning point, I guess. I felt this one was rushed and not really interesting, but I'm too busy to look back at it and fix it. I hope you guys enjoy it!


	12. From the bottom of my Stomach

**Disclaimer:** Resident Evil is property of Capcom.

**XII**

**f r o m t h e b o t t o m o f m y … s t o m a c h**

Chris woke up earlier than expected, the clock giving 5 AM with red, bold characters. He took a quick glance to his side, checking that Jill was still sleeping besides him. He had grown quite paranoid ever since he lost her, fearing he would lose her again if he got distracted. Chris always made sure she was near him—so she wouldn't disappear like a fleeting dream. The young woman moved a little in her sleep, and tossed to the other side, sleeping peacefully.

The sun was still making its way up to the sky when he was fully dressed, ready to check on Claire. It was an habit he had since their parents died; every morning he would get up and make sure she was still in her room, safe and most importantly, alive.

He opened the door slowly, not really hoping to wake her up. However, how could he do that if she wasn't sleeping in there in the first place?

Leon's first thoughts when the sun rays hit his face were to naturally turn over to the other side and keep sleeping, but doing so was very awkward to begin with. First, he felt like if he was going to fall over the edge of the bed, due to the fact that he was sleeping in less than _half _of the bed and second, because he was sharing the bed with none else than Claire. She moved so _damn_ much in her sleep—he had to actually dodge her movements to avoid getting hit by one of her legs—he even thought of getting up and sleeping in the floor, he didn't care; except that red-head besides him had a strong grip to his arm, refusing to let him go.

So yeah, it was _odd_ waking up besides her, but by no means it felt wrong. He admired her sleeping form for what seemed like minutes, feeling bold to actually bring his hand to Claire's face. She moved, mumbling something under her breath and Leon quickly placed his hand back to a safe spot. He needed his hand.

He certainly didn't expect opening his eyes in the morning, considering the huge threat Chris gave him the day before. Leon was at peace with himself, it's not like they did _anything_ to begin with, besides sleep.

"Good morning!" a voice came from outside the door, followed by a knock. It was clearly Chris' voice and Leon was very close to experience a heart attack, "Kennedy, get your ass off that bed, I need your help with something!"

Leon struggled with Claire, who didn't budge at all. He clicked his tongue and decided to play a little dirty; even it meant to save his life. He placed both of his hands at Claire's sides and began tickling her—it look less than a second to have her up, arching her back and her eyes ridden with the most pure _anger_ he had seen in a long time. He was sure she was about to curse him when she fell of the bed, dragging all of the blankets along into the floor. Her swearing was muffled, thankfully.

"Uh, sure," he said, giving Claire the most clear signal to _shut up_. Please shut up. "Coming down in a bit," he added, keeping his voice stoic as usual.

"Roger," Chris finally said.

He thought he was safe from danger now, but Leon saw when the red-head in the floor flashed a devilish grin at him.

_She isn't. She can't—_

"Good morning to you too, Chris!" she said cheerfully as the most innocent girl on the whole world.

Leon actually held his breath, waiting for the gruesome finale. Chris would kick the door down, take Claire in his arms and then instruct him to leave and then it would be the just two of them—Kennedy versus older Redfield. Chris would win, probably deprive him from having children and he would never see Claire again, even if it was _her_ fault to begin with.

But none of the above happened; in fact Chris just laughed at the other end and… left.

"What just… happened?" Leon said after a few moments of utter shock.

"I told you it'd be alright," Claire got up, stretching while walking and speaking carelessly, "You can breathe again, _missy,_"

"Claire, have you any idea of what you just did?" the ex-cop was still sitting on the bed, pondering the possibility of not leaving that very room for the rest of the trip, or leaving the house entirely.

"Sure, sure. Beware, Chris keeps a Rocket Launcher in the trunk of his Toyota," Claire smiled brightly before disappearing into the bathroom.

_You never know…_

The rest of the day was bizarre, mostly because every time Chris looked at him, he kept picturing him with that Rocket Launcher in his hands. They spent the entire afternoon figuring out how to set up their rusty barbecue in the courtyard, and when they were finished it was already dark. Claire and Jill had gone to the supermarket earlier to buy some steaks and more beers, and later helped to cook them.

They ate like _pigs_, and Leon felt that the steaks were a little over done for his taste, with an odd flavor in-between, but he didn't say anything. The last thing he wanted was to set off the bomb Chris had under his sleeve.

Little did Leon know that the former S.T.A.R.S member had already done so a while ago.

It was almost midnight when Claire and Jill finished placing everything back in its place, but it seemed that the red-head was a little into the angry side. Apparently, Chris had fallen asleep in the sofa and Leon had disappeared somewhere else, leaving the two women to pick up the entire mess. Even if she was upset, she refused to let Jill help as she looked worn out—but the brunette was also stubborn and in the end, they finished cleaning up together.

"Chris," Jill began, doubt feeling her voice, "He told me that he found you sleeping with Leon in the morning, mind explaining how does _that_ work?"

Claire chuckled, putting aside the last piece of china they dried.

"Well, it was just that, _sleeping_" she shrugged, "It was nothing serious, Jill. Leon and I are… just friends."

Jill couldn't help but to think something completely different. It could be said that her and Chris started out the same way as they younger couple did. It was _so_ written.

"Tell that to your _brother_, he exploded afterwards," the older woman smiled apologetically, placing some stray hairs behind her ear. She seemed to be thinking of something.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Jill?" Claire spoke, her voice eventually falling into to a worried tone.

"Actually, Chris… put something extra in Leon's—"

"You've got to be_ kidding_ me," was the last thing Claire said before setting out to search for her friend.

Leon closed the bathroom door after him. He held his stomach and furrowed his eyebrows together in a deathly expression. Yes, he was in pain, but also he was so damn _pissed_.

"Oh my God, Leon," Claire came through the door, quickly hurrying to his side and helping him stand, "What did he do to you—Are you alright?"

"_Chris_, you better grab him, because I'm going to kill—damn it, it _hurts_." Leon held his guts one more time, Claire leading him to the bed to lie down for a while. "Thanks, Claire. Ugh."

"Didn't you feel something funny in the food, Leon? I thought you were a _professional,_" she chuckled, patting his head in the process.

"I had _priorities_—like watching every of his moves. When did HE—ugh—have the chance to slip it?" Leon had kept his eyes on Chris the entire time, he would've known.

"Well, he got some help along the way," she said nervously, remembering Jill's embarrassed face while confessing it.

Leon winced, again and Claire felt her heart sink.

"This is my entire fault. If I hadn't slept with you…" she watched his crooked smile, followed with a throaty laugh.

"What, are you _regretting_ it now?" he loved all these implications that were actually empty. It made him happy and sad at the same time.

"Maybe, since I won't be able to do so anymore. You'll have to take over up the whole bed and no way am I sharing it with you. Not with your stomach. " Claire smiled, getting up.

"Hey!" Leon groaned, unable to move because of the pain, "Would you at least be kind enough to give me something for it?"

"Sure, I'll go get a pill," Claire was about to leave when he called out for her.

"Claire… thanks, my stomach will appreciate it." Leon let himself fall completely on the bed, hand over his gut.

"I hope that teaches you not to get on Chris' bad side, Kennedy," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"But you just said it was _your_ fault."

"Be right back," she countered, ignoring him and leaving the room.

"_Claire_!"

.

.

**Author's Note: **This is one is short and kind of silly, I don't know why. I felt like the character were a little OOC for my liking, but oh well... trying is learning. Hope you guys enjoyed this one and we'll getting up to par to the shot I'm actually writing, one more chapter and the updates will begin to be more sporadic. Anyways, if you have any questions, critiques, suggestions and the like, feel free to review.


	13. You Snooze You Lose

**Disclaimer: **Resident Evil is property of Capcom.

**XIII**

**y o u s n o o z e , y o u l o s e**

Leon was feeling so much better now. Claire had given him some pills, along with a hot cup of tea, and then she kept him company for the rest of the night, sitting in the bed. He was supposed to be upset, but just being with the hot-headed girl made him think other wise. Chris was a good guy, besides this little _incident_—something that he understood; walking on your sister with some guy is obviously going to get you a little on the bad side.

However, Leon wasn't _some guy_, he had known Claire for _years_ and he was sure that he knew _every _quirk that the red-head had. She was _always _cranky in the morning. She had a particular hate for new, pre-fabricated pop singers—she was more of a Metallica kind of girl, screaming loudly to their music and sometimes even banging her head like if she was right in the middle of a concert. Claire was used to be alone, yes, but she couldn't stand silence or being quiet for that matter, hell, she even _slept_ with the TV on…

He could go on for years.

"I should try to sleep a little," he said, not really meaning Claire to go. It was more of a reminder to himself, "Tomorrow is going to be another long trip. Are you going with Chris this time?"

"God _no_, I don't think I can bear with one-hundred questions about you the entire trip," she laughed, shaking her head, "I thought we had fun, don't you want me to come with you?"

"That's not what I meant," he corrected himself with a weak smile, "I had a good time too—except for the ones when we were about to crash."

"You mean, like the entire trip?" she joked, remembering all the distractions they had on the road. "That wouldn't had happened if I was driving,"

"Says _someone_ who has wrecked her motorcycle more times than she can remember," Leon ventured with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I lost track after the first five times, but after that I think it was less than twenty, right?" Claire said, her mind traveling back to her first crash. Chris had been so worried, neurotic even, but she had assured him that she was alright besides a small wound in her arm. Following that, Chris took Claire's license away and she hadn't seen it ever since.

Leon chuckled, resting on his side and preparing to sleep. He didn't mind if Claire decided to stay. What _else_ could happen, anyways? She lied besides him, her hands over her stomach.

"Let's play a game, Leon," she said idly, not really looking at him.

One of Leon's eyes opened lazily, gazing at the clock at the night table.

"It's four in the morning, Claire. Didn't you hear Chris saying we were going to hit the road at _seven_?"

"But... I'm not sleepy," she pouted, turning to her side and fully facing Leon. He closed his eyes again, his fringe obscuring his features. Claire suddenly felt the want of tugging that _perfect_ hair of his—how can it be possible that a man has better hair than her? "_Leon_, don't fall asleep."

"Ouch!" he groaned, his eyes shooting open when Claire _attacked_ his hair, "Claire, I'm the one who's going to drive in the morning. I don't want to jeopardize our safety by falling asleep in the road. I need _it_."

"I can drive," she offered with a smile, placing both of her hands under her head.

The sight of her besides him like that could convince anyone to pledge to her will. But he decided against it, he wasn't going to let Claire drive a car issued by the _Government_ and let him deal with the damages. His fee was good, but still.

"No," he finally said, closing his eyes again.

He was woken up again, this time with a pillow to his head.

"Pillow fight!" Claire declared, getting on her knees and attacking Leon several times in a row.

"_What the hell_—Claire, stop," Leon groaned, his voice muffled by pillow on his face. He tried to break free but she had positioned herself on top of him, locking him with her weight. Leon then remembered that he was the secret agent here, pushing Claire aside and rolling over her. He was in control now, so he made a suggestion. "What about sleeping now?"

"My God, Kennedy. What have you been lifting, _buildings_?" Claire's hands were placed on his chest, mostly to avoid him falling like a rock in top of her, but it also led her to realize that Leon was no longer that rookie cop back in Raccoon City. He had um, grown up.

Leon felt his arms wager at her touch. It was like freaking _electricity _on him. He forced out a composed smile, keeping his calm demeanor

"Something like that," he shrugged, "Nothing compared to Chris, though,"

"I'm sure what he's got isn't legit," Claire laughed, not showing even the slightest trace of nervousness in the… circumstances they were in. "You in the other hand… it seems like the Government it's giving you a hard time."

"Well, they were kind enough to let me have a weekend to myself," he said, much more relaxed now that Claire didn't seem to be bothered by him.

"Are you going to leave afterwards?" her tone dropped and she lifted her gaze to get a good at Leon's face.

"Probably," he spoke truthfully, "Something's building up in China."

"Oh, _fancy_. I bet you'll go to the best hotels." Claire said casually, hiding her obvious sadness behind her voice.

"Trust me, that's… not the best way to enjoy them," he already pictured himself checking every inch of the big suite, looking for anything suspicious and staying up all night with a cup of coffee or a bottle of beer, shotgun besides him. That was nowhere near a perfect vacation. "In most of the cases I decide not to sleep."

"That's sad," she tried putting Leon's fringe behind his ear while speaking, "Do you always have to go alone?"

He chuckled, finding her question really amusing.

"Are you saying you want to tag along?" he teased, feeling more comfortable about moving in closer and wrapping his arms around her. Claire didn't object.

"Maybe I am," she replied with a tired smile, later adding, "Even though you know I'd love to, I can't."

"Yeah," he knew she was busy with TerraSave, and probably she had missions of her own. The idea of Claire working alone terrified him—not because she couldn't do it; Leon was sure he had her ways. Claire was a resourceful and practical girl, but she could be danger-prone most of the times.

Claire's voice died down, eventually giving Leon some space to settle himself on the bed. She quieted down, finally closing her eyes and sleeping against him. Leon felt a small jolt, amazed that she didn't began moving like a maniac and knocking him out of the bed. She slept calmly, with soft breaths and mumbling from time to time. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

Leon felt like their roles were traded. Now, he was the one without sleep and to be frank, he was rather reluctant to do so as well. Deep down, Leon Kennedy felt if closed his eyes for a snooze, he would lose every second of what he was sharing with the red-head besides him, Claire Redfield.

.

.

**Author's Notes: **This is the last of the shots I have already written. From now on the updates will be sporadic and well... I hope they won't be lacking, but who knows. I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for your amazing feedback you guys, I didn't realize that we reached 40+ reviews, so my deepest thank you to everyone! I also wish to all of you to have a lovely Valentine's Day.

Later!


	14. Something Is Gonna Jump Out At Me

**Author's Note: **Greetings my readers! First off I want to thank you so much for waiting patiently! I have to say that this year has been hectic for me and it's really hard getting back to writing these shots. I'm really trying to continue, so while I write the other prompts I leave you with this one.

**Disclaimer:** Resident Evil belongs to Capcom

**XVI**

**s o m e t h i n g i s g o n n a j u m p o u t a t **** m e **

**Setting:** Resident Evil

The simple visage of the Raccoon City Police Department building across the street brought peace to Claire Redfield. However, getting there was an entirely different story: she had to gone through the utmost apocalyptic scenarios and had fights with several _zombies_, yes, real zombies—as stupid and fake that sounded. Luckily for her, she hadn't gone through all of that alone: during the Outbreak she had met Leon S. Kennedy, a police rookie in his own words; he was the sole reason they were heading for the Police Department anyways.

"Look, there it is." Leon said his voice steady and keeping his gun ready for anything.

Claire nodded and wondered how he managed to stay _relatively_ calm during this whole trip. Sure, they had experienced quite a few scares while exploring the streets of Raccoon City, but that was reasonable since they had been taken by surprise. He was stoic the rest of the time, though. While Claire was… well, she was a little on the edge.

"You okay?" he asked, slowing down and looking at her.

"Mhmm, I'm fine." Claire assured, holding the gun as firm as she could.

They both kept walking and soon encountered the gates of the Police Station. Leon opened his mouth to speak but the ominous sound of steps stopped him: steps and a long pause. Obviously, they knew what it meant.

Several bullets later, Claire and Leon were just in front of the main entrance. It seemed that they were ready to enter, but Leon took a moment to reload. Many things could be lurking in there, so they had to be ready.

"Claire,"

"What?" she said, jumpy.

Leon gave her an odd stare and sighed.

"Look, if you're scared…" he began honestly.

"I'm not scared." she said firmly, almost too secure. She was _trying _to buy that. She reloaded her gun to make a point, "Let's go."

She took the first step and opened the doors. There were no lights and pitch black darkness was awaiting them inside. Claire shuddered but insisted, so Leon followed silently.

By looking at her from the back, Leon could tell that she was tense. Her shoulders were scrunched up and her posture was awkward. He couldn't blame her; for someone who hadn't undergone some kind of training, she was doing fairly well. He questioned himself where she learned all that, and then remembered her mention her brother being an S.T.A.R.S official, way back when they met.

_No wonder_, he thought.

Meanwhile, Claire was lost in her mind. She was back at college, remembering one of her Psychology classes. Yes, in how she hated them; for Claire understanding why humans did things wasn't in her top priority. On the other hand, her teacher at the time wasn't the most orthodox of all and eventually ended up talking about more spiritual things, like for example, Buddhism. She was crazy about it and Claire clearly remembered her last assignment concerning Mantras.

Yes, Mantras.

And you know what? Claire Redfield was going to use a freaking Mantra.

She couldn't handle it anymore. The place was too dark to see a thing. She was walking blindly and she was almost sure that she had stepped on something… human. Chills were sent through her spine and to avoid screaming like a girl, and embarrassing herself in front of Leon, she began chanting quietly.

_Something is gonna__ out jump at me. _

They advanced in silence until they faced a door. Leon opened it and with a nod, they continued. The darkness kept creeping in, as if it was going to swallow them whole or…

_Something is gonna __out jump at me, something is gonna jump out at me. _

Clack.

"What was that?" Claire almost choked and threw her gun at whatever made that sound.

Leon turned to her with a raised eye brow. His mouth was fighting not to curve itself into a sly smile.

"That… was the door I just closed." He replied, stepping away from it and letting Claire see it clearly.

"Alright… I, I got distracted. Let's move on."

Leon nodded in agreement and kept walking behind Claire. Nothing happened for about ten minutes, when he became aware of her frantic chanting; her voice was low but desperate:

_Something is gonna jump__ out at me, something is gonna jump out at me, something is gonna jump out at me, something is gonna jump out at me, something…_

Then he saw it, like a light in the darkest nights. His opportunity was there in front of his _face_. Yes, it wasn't the most appropriate of the situations but… it was screaming at him to take it. Do it. It's just a little—

So, with a swift movement of his legs he closed the distance between them and—

"!"

Claire's shriek was the most _girly _and out-of-place thing that was heard in the Raccoon City disaster.

Her face was red and her heart was racing. She turned around and faced Leon, who in her opinion looked to happy.

She felt like tearing that grin off his face, _right now_.

"You scared the crap out of me, Leon!" she hissed, getting on his face, "I thought it was… it was one of those things!"

In a moment, his face was red as well but not exactly because of anger. He was trying really hard not to laugh.

She kind of appreciated that.

"I'm sorry." He said with all truthfulness, "I just heard you chanting and… it was just too good to pass up."

"I can't believe you're an officer." She huffed in disbelief.

"It's my first day."

"And _what_ a day." She sighed, looking down at the floor suddenly too humiliated to look at him in the face. "Leon?"

"Hm?"

"Can you let go of my waist?"

Since Claire had turned around as soon as he grabbed her, they were now standing really close of each other. One wrong movement and…

"Uh, right." He blurted out, letting go. "Can we keep walking?"

"I guess, unless you're planning of pulling more of your stunts, Mr. Kennedy." Claire joked lightly, starting to head into another room.

A few seconds passed until Leon spoke again.

"Claire?" he asked timidly, facing the other way while holding his gun stable.

"Yes?" she apparently was doing the same thing.

"No more mantras, alright?" Leon's voice was firm and a ward smile crossed his features, "I'll protect you."

Claire smiled and crossed the door into the darkness. She wasn't scared anymore; she knew Leon was following right behind her.


	15. Between Heaven and Hell

**Disclaimer: **Resident Evil belongs to Capcom.

**XV**

**b e t w e e n h e a v e n a n d h e l l**

She barely could feel her legs when she got out of that damned plane. It took _sixteen hours_ to get from New York to China, and Claire Redfield was beginning to get a little mad. She was now in Hong Honk, but sadly she didn't have much time for sight seeing as she was there for official matters. TerraSave had informed her of this trip weeks prior, sending her reports of it every now and then; however, Claire still didn't have much of a clue of what it was all about.

There wasn't anyone waiting for her at the Airport, and for the first time in the trip she felt completely alone. It was nothing new, yes, but it saddened her. She was on her own, only with a piece of paper and an address—probably for her hotel.

Her assignment was simple. She had to attend several meetings with the CEO's of the most prominent Pharmaceutical Companies in China. According to the report, she wasn't supposed to go on alone, but several issues had come up with the other members that were assigned as well, so she was on her own for now.

As soon as Claire got her things, she quickly made her way to get a cab. She was lucky that she managed to get one in such crowd—apparently some flight was running late and many people were stuck in the airport. Her hotel wasn't anything luxurious as Terra Save used its money on more important things, but it would have to do for her. After sleeping (or trying to) in abandoned houses during the Racoon City incident she couldn't really _complain_.

Her room was fairly small, but she was more than happy to have some privacy now. She didn't even bother to unpack as she wasn't going to stay long. After checking the whole room for anything _suspicious, _she decided to get ready for the meeting she was supposed to be attending in an hour.

.

.

The meeting was to be held in a convention center downtown. Claire was anxious, hoping that someone from Terra Save would show up in any minute, meanwhile she tried her best to socialize with the CEO's of the companies. She caught some names, most of them were related to the now disbanded WilPharma, but thankfully there were none from Umbrella. She looked across the room, analizing faces and wishing that everything went as smoothly as it was supposed to: she had recieved a briefing earlier, before leaving her room, explaining that an exchange was supposed take place in the party—apparently someone had bought the T-Virus sample and was going to make a move tonight.

Claire kept her eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, but the truth was that this party looked like any other boring CEO celebration. It was full with men in black suits, speaking about their savings, positions and even their affairs. She sighed and moved from the spot she was standing as a man was approaching her to ask her something, probably for a dance. She escaped elegantly and stood close to the ladies restroom, just before catching a glimpse of a man going into said room, later followed by another.

_What the hell... _

The redhead made her way to the hall that led to the bathrooms, but she was suddenly intercepted by a pair of hands that pulled her inside the men's restroom. She didn't manage to yell but instead, she sharply stabbed her attacker's foot with her left heel. She smiled to herself when the man staggered back and released her.

_Well, they're at least good for _something_._

She quickly turned and aimed her gun right on his head.

"I didn't think that the first time I would see you in a dress would imply getting assaulted," Leon said with humor. Claire lowered her weapon instantly, looking dumbfounded. "Nothing to say? I just saved you from some really close-range gunshots."

Claire opened her mouth to say something, but bullets were heard loudly across the hall, followed by the guests shrieks and screams. Leon and Claire exchanged looks and bursted out of the restroom. People were running outside to avoid getting caught by any of the bullets and chaos ensued, as usual. She spotted the two mysterious men from earlier and made a run for them, but Leon didn't hesitate to stop her.

"Kennedy, what are you doing?" she yelled, "They're getting away!"

"This is an official mission from the U.S. Goverment," he said flatly, "I don't need you to get involved."

"I'm already involved. I'm in a mission with Terra Save—look we don't have the time—" she stammered as the subjects went out of her sight. Leon chuckled and she stared at him angrily, "What's so funny?"

"I've already got someone to take care of them,"

Claire raised an eyebrow. She was sure Leon usually worked alone and the thought of him having a sidekick... just wasn't right.

"And who might that be?" Claire demanded, still trying to pry off Leon's grip.

Leon's voice was silenced with a huge explotion coming from the back of the building. They both made a run to escape before saying anything.

What followed was the usual procedure. The police got to the scene and by the time they began asking questions Leon and Claire had already left the teared convention center. They ran a couple of blocks until they reached a parking lot. She wasn't taken back by the fact that Leon had rented a car for this assignment, but what really surprised her was the person sitting in the pilot seat.

"Leon—" she choked, "What is _she_ doing here? I thought—"

"It's actually a really long story," Leon explained, getting in the black car, "We can talk about it in the way,"

Claire just stayed there, watching the pilot with intense eyes. The woman behind the wheel was of asian descent and wore a red dress. She looked sly, holding a white suitcase with one hand, probably containing the sample of the T-Virus. Claire stepped into the car very slowly, never getting her eyes off Ada Wong.

Leon sighed to himself, knowing no matter how much he tried. This wasn't going to be an easy night.

Ada smiled as usual and got the engine started.

**Author's Note: **Just to clarify, I, by no means, hate Ada Wong. I consider her a strong, interesting and beautiful character. I thought it would be cool to include her in this story to add up to the plot and Leon and Claire's relationship. Now, with that clear, this marks the steady updates for this fanfiction!

Thanks a bunch guys!


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